Real Madrid fires coach Lopetegui

MADRID, Oct 30: In just months, Julen Lopetegui has
lost two of the most high-profile coaching jobs in
the world. Lopetegui was finally fired by Real Madrid
on Monday, less than five months after he was sacked
by Spain before the World Cup for not telling
federation officials he accepted the Madrid job,
reports AP.
The latest firing followed a meeting by the club's
board of directors on Monday, a day after the team
was crushed by Barcelona 5-1 at Camp Nou Stadium.
Santiago Solari, coach of Real Madrid B, will take
charge for the Copa del Rey match against third-
division club Melilla on Wednesday.
Spanish media speculated Solari, a former Madrid
player, was in the running for the permanent job
along with former Chelsea manager Antonio Conte and
Belgium manager Roberto Martinez.
The firing caps a horrible few months for Lopetegui
and is likely to deal a significant setback to his
career. After doing well with Spain's youth teams, he
had a lackluster stint with Portuguese club Porto,
but gained prominence after revamping Spain and
turning it into a contender entering the World Cup.
"I want to thank the club for the opportunity it gave
me and the players for their effort," Lopetegui told
the local news agency EFE. "I wish the team the best
for the rest of the season."
Madrid said in a statement it sacked 52-year-old
Lopetegui to "change the team's dynamic while all of
its objectives for the season were still reachable."
The board of directors believed there was a huge
difference between the quality of the squad and the
results it was achieving. The board noted the team
has eight players nominated for the Ballon d'Or
award, something unprecedented in the club's history.
They have lost five of their last seven matches.
"We know that results are important for a coach,"
Madrid captain Sergio Ramos said after the Barcelona
match.
Lopetegui, who led the team practice on Monday
morning, was hired by Madrid to replace Zinedine
Zidane, who quit after leading the club to the last
three Champions League titles.
Losing the clasico left Madrid ninth in the Spanish
league, seven points behind leader Barcelona after 10
rounds. It hasn't won in five straight league
matches, with four losses, and recently reached its
worst scoring drought ever.
The club had a decent start to the season but things
went sour as the squad struggled to produce goals in
its first season without Cristiano Ronaldo in nearly
a decade. Madrid didn't replace the superstar; its
only high-profile signing was goalkeeper Thibaut
Courtois.
In 14 matches with Lopetegui, Madrid won six, lost
six, and drew two.
After the Copa match on Wednesday, Madrid hosts
Valladolid in the Spanish league, and visits Viktoria
Plzen in the Champions League.
"We have to move on as soon as possible because there
is a lot of season left," Ramos said.
To make things worse, veteran left back Marcelo is
expected to be out for a few weeks because of a
muscle injury. Forward Mariano Diaz is also injured
and is likely to be out for at least a week.
Solari, aged 42, is a former Argentina midfielder who
played for Real Madrid in the early 2000s and helped
the team win the 2002 Champions League. He also
played for Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan. He has
been coaching Real Madrid B since 2016, taking over
not long after Zidane left to coach the main squad.
Lopetegui is the second La Liga coach to be fired.
The first was Leo Franco of promoted club Huesca,
currently last in the 20-team standings.